Evaluation device and evaluation method

ABSTRACT

To enhance safety in vehicle operation. An evaluation device according to the present technology includes a communication unit capable of communicating with a vehicle, and a control unit that performs an evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger by a user on the basis of an electroencephalogram of the user detected by an electroencephalogram sensor, and causes the communication unit to transmit evaluation result information to the vehicle. That is, for example, on the basis of an electroencephalogram of a user such as a driver of a vehicle, evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger such as whether or not the user has sensed a danger is performed, and evaluation result information is transmitted to the vehicle side.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase of International PatentApplication No. PCT/JP2019/016182 filed on Apr. 15, 2019, which claimspriority benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2018-122301 filedin the Japan Patent Office on Jun. 27, 2018. Each of theabove-referenced applications is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology relates to an evaluation device and a method forevaluating a state related to sensing of danger by a user who is, forexample, a driver of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND ART

For example, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 described below, itis conceivable to monitor a psychological condition or a healthcondition of a driver of a vehicle by biological information such aspulse, heartbeat, or the like for use in safety control.

When an abnormality is found in the driver's condition, it isconceivable to alert an occupant of the vehicle or surrounding vehicles,or to automatically reduce speed.

CITATION LIST Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-280513

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-89557

Patent Document 3: WO 2014-24606 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

It is an object of the present technology to enhance safety in vehicleoperation.

Solutions to Problems

An evaluation device according to the present technology includes acommunication unit capable of communicating with a vehicle, and acontrol unit that performs an evaluation of a state related to sensingof danger by a user on the basis of an electroencephalogram of the userdetected by an electroencephalogram sensor, and causes the communicationunit to transmit evaluation result information to the vehicle.

That is, for example, on the basis of an electroencephalogram of a usersuch as a driver of a vehicle, evaluation of a state related to sensingof danger such as whether or not the user has sensed a danger isperformed, and evaluation result information is transmitted to thevehicle side.

In the evaluation device according to the present technology describedabove, it is desirable that the control unit perform the evaluation of astate related to sensing of danger on the basis of at least one of amagnitude of amplitude of a beta wave in an electroencephalogram, apower level of the beta wave, or a phase of the beta wave.

When a danger approaches and tension rises, an amplitude and power of abeta wave change. Furthermore, when beta waves detected at a pluralityof positions in a brain are out of phase, there is a possibility thatthe evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger becomes lessaccurate. Thus, the state is evaluated in consideration of a magnitudeof amplitude, a power level, and a phase of a beta wave.

In the evaluation device according to the present technology describedabove, it is desirable that the control unit perform the evaluation of astate related to sensing of danger on the basis of a relative comparisonbetween a beta wave and a component other than the beta wave in anelectroencephalogram.

That is, the evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger isperformed on the basis of a relative comparison with a component otherthan the beta wave such as an alpha wave or a theta wave, not on thebasis of the beta wave alone.

In the evaluation device according to the present technology describedabove, it is desirable that the control unit perform, when a currentposition is a position where an avoidance behavior has been taken in thepast and an electroencephalogram immediately before the avoidancebehavior has been recorded, the evaluation of a state related to sensingof danger on the basis of a result of matching between anelectroencephalogram detected by the electroencephalogram sensor and theelectroencephalogram immediately before the avoidance behavior.

This makes it possible to appropriately evaluate, on the basis of pastrecords, a possibility that a user will take an avoidance behavior suchas sudden braking or sudden steering in accordance with sensing ofdanger.

In the evaluation device according to the present technology describedabove, it is desirable that the control unit execute transmissionprocessing for transmitting, to an external device, current positioninformation, information regarding an electroencephalogram detected bythe electroencephalogram sensor, and motion information detected by amotion sensor.

This makes it possible to build, outside the evaluation device, adatabase (table information) for managing information such as a placewhere a user has sensed a danger, an electroencephalogram at the time ofsensing of danger, a content of an avoidance behavior taken inaccordance with sensing of danger, and whether an accident has occurred(whether a collision has occurred).

In the evaluation device according to the present technology describedabove, it is desirable that the control unit execute the transmissionprocessing in accordance with a result of the evaluation of a staterelated to sensing of danger.

This allows processing of transmitting information for risk analysissuch as an electroencephalogram to an external device to be executed ifit is evaluated that a user has sensed a danger, and not to be executedif it is evaluated that the user has not sensed a danger.

In the evaluation device according to the present technology describedabove, it is desirable that the control unit extract a feature amount ofan electroencephalogram detected by the electroencephalogram sensor, andperform the transmission processing for transmitting informationregarding the extracted feature amount.

With this arrangement, an amount of data can be reduced as compared witha case where an electroencephalogram signal itself detected by theelectroencephalogram sensor is transmitted.

In the evaluation device according to the present technology describedabove, it is desirable that the control unit perform the transmissionprocessing for transmitting vehicle information acquired from thevehicle via the communication unit.

This makes it possible to build, outside the evaluation device, adatabase for managing information indicating a vehicle statecorresponding to the time of sensing of danger, in addition toinformation indicating a place where a user has sensed a danger, anavoidance behavior has been taken, or an accident has occurred.

In the evaluation device according to the present technology describedabove, it is desirable that the control unit cause the communicationunit to transmit, to the vehicle, information regarding an avoidancebehavior recorded in association with a current position on the basis ofa result of the evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger.

This makes it possible to transmit, to the vehicle, informationregarding an avoidance behavior recorded in association with the currentposition when it is evaluated that a user has sensed a danger.

Furthermore, an evaluation method according to the present technologyincludes evaluating a state related to sensing of danger by a user onthe basis of an electroencephalogram of the user detected by anelectroencephalogram sensor, and causing a communication unit capable ofcommunicating with a vehicle to transmit evaluation result informationto the vehicle.

Such an evaluation method also makes it possible to obtain an operationsimilar to that of the evaluation device according to the presenttechnology described above.

Effects of the Invention

According to the present technology, it is possible to enhance safety invehicle operation.

Note that the effects described here are not necessarily restrictive,and the effects of the invention may be any one of the effects describedin the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a drivingsupport system including an evaluation device as an embodiment accordingto the present technology.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration example ofthe evaluation device and a vehicle as the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration example ofthe evaluation device as the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of avehicle as the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of aserver device as the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram for illustrating functions of theevaluation device as the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram for illustrating functions of theserver device as the embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a data structure of an analysis tablein the embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a data structure of an evaluation tablein the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure to beexecuted by the evaluation device in order to implement a drivingsupport method as the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of processing of transmitting information to theserver device executed by the evaluation device as the embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a data structure of an evaluationtable in a first modification.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure to beexecuted by the evaluation device for implementation of a drivingsupport method as the first modification.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment according to the present technology will be describedbelow in the following order with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

<1. Overview of driving support system>

[1-1. System overview]

[1-2. Configuration of evaluation device]

[1-3. Configuration of vehicle]

[1-4. Configuration of server device]

<2. Driving support method as embodiment>

<3. Processing procedure>

<4. Modifications of embodiment>

[4-1. First modification]

[4-2. Second modification]

[4-3. Other modifications]

<5. Summary of embodiment>

<6. Present technology>

1. Overview of Driving Support System 1-1. System Overview

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration example of a driving support system 5including an evaluation device 1 as an embodiment according to thepresent technology.

The driving support system 5 includes a plurality of the evaluationdevices 1, a plurality of vehicles 2, and a server device 4 that cancommunicate with each evaluation device 1 via a network 3. The network 3is, for example, the Internet.

In the present example, the evaluation device 1 is a device worn by auser who is a driver of a vehicle 2, and can perform data communicationwith the vehicle 2.

The vehicle 2 can execute a control related to driving support such asautomatic braking and automatic steering.

FIG. 2 illustrates an external configuration example of the evaluationdevice 1 and the vehicle 2. In the present example, the vehicle 2 is amotorcycle, and the evaluation device 1 has, for example, a helmet-likeshape.

As will be described later, the evaluation device 1 has a function ofdetecting a user's electroencephalogram. The evaluation device 1 alsohas a function of detecting a current position, a function of detectinga motion by an acceleration sensor or the like, and a function ofacquiring vehicle information such as a vehicle speed from the vehicle2.

Note that the evaluation device 1 is not limited to being worn by auser, but may be mounted on the vehicle 2. In that case, anelectroencephalogram sensor 11, which will be described later, isexternally attached to the evaluation device 1.

In the driving support system 5, on the basis of a result of detectingan electroencephalogram of a user who drives the vehicle 2, theevaluation device 1 evaluates a state related to sensing of danger bythe user. Then, the evaluation device 1 transmits information indicatinga result of the evaluation of the state related to sensing of danger tothe corresponding vehicle 2 (that is, the vehicle 2 driven by the userwearing the evaluation device 1). With this arrangement, the vehicle 2can reflect, in a driving support control, the result of the evaluationof the state related to sensing of danger by the user.

Furthermore, in the driving support system 5 of the present example, theevaluation device 1 performs, on the basis of the detectedelectroencephalogram, an evaluation as to whether or not the user hassensed a danger. When it is evaluated that a danger has been sensed,information indicating a situation in which the danger has been sensedis transmitted to the server device 4 via the network 3.

As the information transmitted at this time, which will be describedlater in detail, at least information regarding the detectedelectroencephalogram, information indicating a detected motion, andvehicle information acquired from the vehicle 2, together with currentposition information acquired at the time of sensing of danger, aretransmitted to the server device 4.

With this arrangement, in the server device 4, it is possible tocollect, from each evaluation device 1, a place where a user hasperceived a danger, a motion performed when the user has perceived thedanger (it can also be said as a behavior of the vehicle 2), and thevehicle information.

The information collected in this way can be used for analysis of thekind of place the user driving the vehicle 2 has perceived a danger, thekind of avoidance behavior the user has taken when the user hasperceived the danger, and the like.

1-2. Configuration of Evaluation Device

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration example ofthe evaluation device 1.

As illustrated, the evaluation device 1 includes theelectroencephalogram sensor 11 that detects an electroencephalogram, aposition sensor 12 that detects a position, a motion sensor 13 thatdetects a motion, a control unit 14 to which a detection signal fromeach of these sensors is input, a storage unit 15 that stores varioustypes of information, and a first communication unit 16 and a secondcommunication unit 17 for performing data communication with an externaldevice.

The electroencephalogram sensor 11 has a plurality of electrodes incontact with a scalp of a user, and an electroencephalogram of the useris detected by the electrodes.

The position sensor 12 is, for example, a global navigation satellitesystem (GNSS) sensor such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor,and detects a position.

The motion sensor 13 comprehensively represents sensors that detect amotion, such as a G-sensor (acceleration sensor), a gyro sensor (angularvelocity sensor), and the like. In the present example, a G-sensor and agyro sensor are provided as the motion sensor 13, and therefore motioninformation detected by the motion sensor 13 is information regarding anacceleration and an angular velocity.

The control unit 14 includes a microcomputer having a central processingunit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), orthe like, and executes processing in accordance with a program stored inthe ROM to perform overall control of the evaluation device 1.

For example, the control unit 14 performs data communication with thevehicle 2 via the first communication unit 16.

The first communication unit 16 performs short-range wirelesscommunication by a predetermined communication method such as Bluetooth(registered trademark).

Note that communication between the evaluation device 1 and the vehicle2 is not limited to wireless communication, and may be wiredcommunication.

Furthermore, the control unit 14 performs data communication with anexternal device via the second communication unit 17.

The second communication unit 17 can perform data communication via thenetwork 3, and the control unit 14 performs data communication with theexternal device (the server device 4, especially in the present example)connected to the network 3 via the second communication unit 14.

The control unit 14 performs, on the basis of a user'selectroencephalogram detected by the electroencephalogram sensor 11, anevaluation of a state related to sensing of danger by the user, andprocessing of transmitting information to the vehicle 2 or the serverdevice 4 in accordance with an evaluation result, which will bedescribed later.

The storage unit 15 comprehensively represents storage devices such as ahard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), and the like, and isused for storing various types of data in the evaluation device 1. Thestorage unit 15 stores various types of data required for control by thecontrol unit 14. In particular, the storage unit 15 of the presentexample stores an evaluation table 15 a used by the control unit 14 toperform the above-described evaluation of a state related to sensing ofdanger, which will be described later.

1-3. Configuration of Vehicle

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration example ofthe vehicle 2.

Note that, in FIG. 4, only a configuration of a main part according tothe present technology is mainly extracted from the internalconfiguration of the vehicle 2 and illustrated.

The vehicle 2 includes an imaging unit 2 that images the outside of thevehicle, an image processing unit 22 that processes an image captured bythe imaging unit 2, and a driving support control unit 23 that performsa control related to driving support. The vehicle 2 also includes adisplay control unit 24, a display unit 25, an engine control unit 26,an engine-related actuator 27, a steering control unit 28, asteering-related actuator 29, a brake control unit 30, a brake-relatedactuator 31, sensors/operators 32, a bus 33, and a communication unit34.

The imaging unit 21 has at least two camera units that image the outsideof the vehicle. Each camera unit includes a camera optical system and animage sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementarymetal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). The camera optical system causes asubject image to be formed as the image on an imaging area of the imagesensor, and an electric signal corresponding to an amount of receivedlight is obtained for each pixel.

In the imaging unit 21, the two camera units are pointing in a travelingdirection of the vehicle. These two camera units are installed so as toenable distance measurement by a so-called stereo imaging method. Anelectric signal obtained by each camera unit is subjected toanalog-to-digital conversion and predetermined correction processing,and is supplied to the image processing unit 22 as a digital imagesignal (captured image data) representing a luminance value with apredetermined gradation for each pixel.

The image processing unit 22 includes a microcomputer having, forexample, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, or the like, and executes predeterminedimage processing related to recognition of an environment outside thevehicle on the basis of captured image data obtained by the imaging unit21 imaging the outside of the vehicle.

In particular, the image processing unit 22 executes various types ofimage processing based on each piece of captured image data obtained bystereo imaging, recognizes front information such as data of athree-dimensional object or data of a white line in front of an own car,and estimates a path the own car is traveling on the basis of thesepieces of recognized information and the like. Moreover, the imageprocessing unit 22 detects a preceding vehicle on the path the own caris traveling on the basis of the recognized data of a three-dimensionalobject and the like.

Specifically, the image processing unit 22 performs, for example, thefollowing processing as the processing based on each piece of capturedimage data obtained by stereo imaging. First, for a pair of capturedimages as each piece of captured image data, distance information isgenerated on the basis of the principle of triangulation from adisplacement amount (parallax) between corresponding positions. Then, awell-known grouping processing is performed on the distance information,and the distance information after the grouping processing is comparedwith three-dimensional road shape data, data of a three-dimensionalobject, and the like stored in advance, and thus data of a white line,data of a side wall such as a guardrail, a curb, or the like that existsalong a road, data of a three-dimensional object such as a vehicle, andthe like are extracted. Moreover, the image processing unit 22 estimatesthe path the own car is traveling on the basis of data of a white line,data of a side wall, and the like, and extracts (detects), as anothervehicle in the same direction, a three-dimensional object that exists onthe path the own car is traveling (including a lane in which the own caris traveling and its adjacent traveling lane in a case of multipletraveling lanes each way) and is moving in substantially the samedirection as the own vehicle at a predetermined speed (e.g., 0 Km/h ormore). Then, when another vehicle in the same direction has beendetected, as information of that vehicle, a relative distance (distancefrom the own vehicle), a relative speed (rate of change in relativedistance), an another vehicle's speed (relative speed+own vehicle'sspeed), and an another vehicle's acceleration (differential value of theanother vehicle's speed) are calculated. Note that the own vehicle'sspeed is a traveling speed of the own vehicle detected by a vehiclespeed sensor 32 a described later. The image processing unit 22recognizes, as a preceding vehicle, another vehicle that exists in thelane in which the own car is traveling, among other vehicles in the samedirection. Furthermore, the image processing unit 22 recognizes, asanother vehicle in a substantially stopped state, a vehicle thatespecially has an another vehicle's speed of a predetermined value orless (e.g., 4 Km/h or less) and is not accelerating, among othervehicles in the same direction.

The image processing unit 22 also performs processing of recognizing anobject other than other vehicles, such as a pedestrian, an obstacle, orthe like, as the above-described data of a three-dimensional object.

The driving support control unit 23 includes a microcomputer having, forexample, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, or the like, and executes various types ofcontrol processing related to driving support on the basis of a resultof image processing by the image processing unit 22, and detectioninformation and operation input information obtained by thesensors/operators 32, and the like. The driving support control unit 23is connected via the bus 33 to the display control unit 24, the enginecontrol unit 26, the steering control unit 28, and the brake controlunit 30, each of these control units also including a microcomputer, andcan mutually perform data communication with each of these controlunits. The driving support control unit 23 gives an instruction to acontrol unit as needed among the control units described above to causethe control unit to execute an operation related to the driving support.

The sensors/operators 32 comprehensively represent various sensors andoperators provided in the vehicle 2. The sensors/operators 32 includesensors such as the vehicle speed sensor 32 a that detects a speed ofthe own vehicle as an own vehicle's speed, an engine speed sensor 32 bthat detects an engine speed, an accelerator position sensor 32 c thatdetects an accelerator position, a position sensor 32 d that detects aposition (positioning) by latitude, longitude, and altitude, a yaw ratesensor 32 e that detects a yaw rate, a G-sensor 32 f that detects anacceleration, and a brake switch 32 g that is turned on or off dependingon whether a brake is operated or not.

Furthermore, although not illustrated, the sensors/operators 32 alsoinclude other sensors, for example, an intake air amount sensor thatdetects an amount of air taken into an engine, a throttle positionsensor that is interposed in an intake passage and detects a position ofa throttle valve that adjusts the amount of intake air supplied to eachcylinder of the engine, a water temperature sensor that detects acooling water temperature that indicates a temperature of the engine,and the like.

Note that, although not illustrated, the sensors/operators 32 includeoperators for giving various operation instructions to the vehicle 2,for example, an ignition switch for giving an instruction on start/stopof the engine, a turn signal switch for giving an instruction on turningon/off of a turn signal, and the like.

The display unit 25 comprehensively represents display devices installedat positions where they can be visually recognized by the driver. Thedisplay control unit 24 controls a display operation by the display unit25 on the basis of an instruction from a control unit connected to thebus 33, such as the driving support control unit 23 and the like.

The engine control unit 26 controls various actuators provided as theengine-related actuator 27 on the basis of a detection signal from apredetermined sensor in the sensors/operators 32, operation inputinformation by the operators, or the like. As the engine-relatedactuator 27, various actuators for driving the engine are provided, forexample, a throttle actuator that drives the throttle valve and aninjector that injects fuel.

For example, the engine control unit 26 controls start/stop of theengine in accordance with an operation of the ignition switch describedpreviously. The engine control unit 26 also controls a fuel injectiontiming, a fuel injection pulse width, the throttle position, or the likeon the basis of a detection signal from a predetermined sensor such asthe engine speed sensor 32 b or the accelerator position sensor 32 c.

The engine control unit 26 can also obtain a desired throttle positionfrom, for example, a map on the basis of an instruction from the drivingsupport control unit 23, and control the throttle actuator (control anengine output) on the basis of the obtained throttle position.

The steering control unit 28 controls an actuator provided as thesteering-related actuator 29 on the basis of information regarding asteering angle on which an instruction is given by the driving supportcontrol unit 23. The steering-related actuator 29 may be, for example, asteering motor that gives a steering torque to a steering shaft.

With this arrangement, the steering angle can be changed withoutsteering by the driver.

The brake control unit 30 controls various actuators provided as thebrake-related actuator 31 on the basis of a detection signal from apredetermined sensor in the sensors/operators 32 or the like. As thebrake-related actuator 31, various brake-related actuators are provided,for example, a hydraulic pressure control actuator for controlling anoutput hydraulic pressure from a brake booster to a master cylinder anda hydraulic pressure in a brake fluid pipe. For example, the brakecontrol unit 30 calculates a slip ratio of a wheel from detectioninformation of a predetermined sensor (e.g., an axle rotation speedsensor or the vehicle speed sensor 32 a), and causes the hydraulicpressure control actuator described above to increase or decrease thehydraulic pressure in accordance with the slip ratio to implementso-called antilock brake system (ABS) control.

Furthermore, the brake control unit 30 brakes the vehicle 2 bycontrolling the above-described hydraulic pressure control actuator onthe basis of instruction information regarding the hydraulic pressureoutput from the driving support control unit 23. This enables so-calledautomatic braking in which the vehicle 2 is braked without a brakingoperation by the driver.

The communication unit 34 is connected to the driving support controlunit 23. The communication unit 34 performs short-range wirelesscommunication using a communication method similar to that of the firstcommunication unit 16 in the evaluation device 1, such as Bluetooth.This allows the driving support control unit 23 to perform datacommunication with the control unit 14 in the evaluation device 1.

1-4. Configuration of Server Device

FIG. 5 illustrates an internal configuration example of the serverdevice 4.

The server device 4 includes a control unit 41, a storage unit 42, aninput unit 43, an output unit 44, a communication unit 45, and a bus 46.As illustrated, the control unit 41, the storage unit 42, the input unit43, the output unit 44, and the communication unit 45 are connected viathe bus 46.

The control unit 41 includes a microcomputer having, for example, a CPU,a ROM, a RAM, or the like, and executes various types of processing inaccordance with a program stored in the ROM or a program loaded from thestorage unit 42 into the RAM.

The storage unit 42 comprehensively represents storage devices such asan HDD, an SSD, and the like, and is used to store various types of datain the server device 4. For example, the storage unit 42 stores varioustypes of data necessary for control by the control unit 41. Furthermore,the storage unit 42 of the present example especially stores an analysistable 42 a created on the basis of acquired information from eachevaluation device 1, which will be described later.

The input unit 43 processes an input signal from an input device such asa keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel, and transmits input informationfrom the input device to the control unit 41.

The output unit 44 includes a display such as a liquid crystal display(LCD) or an organic electroluminescence (EL) panel, a speaker, and thelike.

The communication unit 45 can perform data communication with anexternal device via the network 3. The control unit 41 performs datacommunication with an external device, especially the evaluation device1 in the present example, through the network 3 via the communicationunit 45.

2. Driving Support Method as Embodiment

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram for illustrating functions of theevaluation device 1.

As illustrated, the evaluation device 1 has functions as a communicationunit F1 and a control unit F2.

The communication unit F1 can communicate with the vehicle 2. Thefunction as the communication unit F1 is implemented by the firstcommunication unit 16 in the present example.

The control unit F2 evaluates a state related to sensing of danger by auser on the basis of an electroencephalogram of the user detected by theelectroencephalogram sensor 11, and causes the communication unit F1 totransmit evaluation result information to the vehicle 2. The function asthe control unit F2 is implemented by the control unit 14 in the presentexample.

Specifically, the control unit F2 evaluates a state related to sensingof danger on the basis of a beta wave in the electroencephalogram.

Here, the electroencephalogram includes a plurality of components suchas a delta wave, a theta wave, an alpha wave, and the beta wave. Each ofthese components has a different frequency band. For example, the alphawave is a band component of about 8 Hz to 12 Hz, and the beta wave is aband component of about 13 Hz to 20 Hz. The delta wave is the lowestband component among the delta wave, the theta wave, the alpha wave, andthe beta wave. The theta wave is a component of a frequency band betweenthe delta wave and the alpha wave.

Among the components constituting the electroencephalogram, the alphawave tends to appear in a relaxed state, while the beta wave tends toappear in a tense state. For this reason, in the present example, anevaluation as to whether or not a user has sensed a danger, that is, adetermination as to whether the user has sensed a danger is made on thebasis of the beta wave.

Specifically, a method of determining whether a danger has been sensedbased on the beta wave may be a method based on at least one of amagnitude of amplitude of the beta wave, a power level of the beta wave,or a phase of the beta wave. In the following description, a case ofadopting a determination method based on the magnitude of amplitude ofthe beta wave is exemplified as an example.

Although a determination of whether the user has sensed a danger can bemade on the basis of the beta wave alone, in the present example, inorder to improve an accuracy of evaluation of whether a danger has beensensed, whether a danger has been sensed is determined on the basis of arelative comparison with another component of the electroencephalogram.Specifically, in the present example, whether or not an amplitudedifference Δ between the alpha wave and the beta wave exceeds apredetermined threshold value THΔ is determined as the determination ofwhether a user has sensed a danger. That is, when the amplitudedifference Δ exceeds the threshold value THΔ, a determination result “adanger has been sensed” is obtained, and when the amplitude difference Δis equal to or less than the threshold value THΔ, a determination result“a danger has not been sensed” is obtained.

Note that the determination of whether a danger has been sensed is notlimited to a determination based on a relative comparison between thebeta wave and a single component other than the beta wave as in theabove example. The determination can also be made on the basis of arelative comparison between the beta wave and a plurality of componentsother than the beta wave.

Here, when the determination of whether a user has sensed a danger ismade by using the above-described determination method based on thepower level of the beta wave, such a method may be performed, as in theabove description, on the basis of a result of comparison with apredetermined threshold value.

Furthermore, the determination method based on the phase of the betawave is a method for a case where an electroencephalogram is detected ata plurality of positions of the brain by a plurality of electrodes. Amethod of evaluating whether a danger has been sensed on the basis ofbeta waves at a plurality of positions may be a method in which anarithmetic mean of the beta waves at the plurality of positions is usedas an evaluation index of whether a danger has been sensed. In thiscase, if the beta waves differ in phase depending on the position, thereis a possibility that the evaluation index may not be accuratelycalculated because waveforms may cancel each other at least between someof the beta waves when the beta waves at the corresponding positions areadded for calculation of the above-described evaluation index. For thisreason, a phase component is extracted from the beta wave at eachposition by Fourier transform, and how the phase component changeswithin a specific time range is analyzed and reflected in thecalculation of the evaluation index. This makes it possible to improvethe accuracy of evaluation of whether a danger has been sensed.

As a result of a determination of whether a danger has been sensed asdescribed above, if it is determined that a danger has been sensed, thecontrol unit F2 of the present example causes the communication unit F1to transmit, to the vehicle 2 (the driving support control unit 23),information indicating a result of evaluation of a state related tosensing of danger, that is, evaluation result information.

With this arrangement, on the vehicle 2 side, it is possible to start,before the user takes an avoidance behavior for avoiding danger such assudden braking or sudden steering in accordance with sensing of danger,a driving support control for danger avoidance. For example, a controlfor braking or steering of the vehicle 2 can be started.

There is a fair time lag from when a person senses a danger to when theperson takes an avoidance behavior, because a command transmission to amotor area in the brain and a command transmission from the motor areato a muscle as needed are required. On the other hand, it takes a veryshort time to evaluate whether a danger has been sensed from anelectroencephalogram detection result and transmit evaluation resultinformation, and it takes a very short time for the vehicle 2 side tostart a driving support control on the basis of the evaluation resultinformation. This makes it possible to start a driving support controlfor danger avoidance before the user senses a danger and actually takesa behavior.

Note that, as an evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger by auser, the control unit F2 of the present example performs, besides adetermination of whether a danger has been sensed based on a detectedelectroencephalogram as described above, an evaluation using theevaluation table 15 a (see FIG. 3) described previously, and thisevaluation will be described later.

Here, when the electroencephalogram sensor 11 detects anelectroencephalogram, noise in the electroencephalogram occurs when auser's body moves, so noise suppression processing may be performed onan electroencephalogram detection signal on the basis of motioninformation detected by the motion sensor 13.

Furthermore, as a result of a determination of whether a danger has beensensed as described above, if it is determined that a danger has beensensed, the control unit F2 of the present example performs processingof transmitting, to the server device 4, predetermined informationincluding information regarding the electroencephalogram detected by theelectroencephalogram sensor 11.

The information transmitted to the server device 4 here is informationprovided to the analysis table 42 a described previously. Specifically,position information detected by the position sensor 12, motioninformation detected by the motion sensor 13 (information regarding anacceleration and an angular velocity in the present example), andvehicle information acquired from the vehicle 2 are transmitted togetherwith the information regarding the electroencephalogram detected by theelectroencephalogram sensor 11.

At this time, as for the information regarding the electroencephalogram,waveform information of a certain period in the past from a timing ofdetermination that a danger has been sensed is transmitted.

At this time, as the electroencephalogram information, not a signal(electroencephalogram signal) itself detected by theelectroencephalogram sensor 11 is transmitted, but a feature amount isextracted from the electroencephalogram signal and information regardingthe extracted feature amount is transmitted. Specifically, informationregarding the beta wave extracted from the electroencephalogram signalis transmitted.

This makes it possible to reduce the amount of data transmitted to theserver device 4.

Furthermore, as for the position information, position informationdetected by the position sensor 12 is transmitted at the timing ofdetermination that a danger has been sensed.

As for the motion information, information of a certain period from thetiming of determination that a danger has been sensed is transmitted.This allows the server device 4 side to analyze an avoidance behaviortaken after a danger has been sensed and analyze whether the vehicle 2has collided or not.

Moreover, as for the vehicle information, information regarding avehicle speed acquired from the vehicle 2 (driving support control unit23), and information regarding recognized pedestrians and other cars(information indicating the number of pedestrians recognized, the numberof other cars recognized, a positional relationship with the vehicle 2,and the like) are transmitted.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram for illustrating functions of thecontrol unit 41 of the server device 4.

As illustrated, the control unit 41 of the server device 4 has functionsas an analysis table creation unit 41 a, an evaluation table informationgeneration unit 41 b, and an information transmission unit 41 c.

The analysis table creation unit 41 a creates the analysis table 42 a onthe basis of electroencephalogram information, position information,motion information, and vehicle information transmitted from theevaluation device 1.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a data structure of the analysis table42 a.

As illustrated, in the analysis table 42 a, pieces of informationregarding a position, electroencephalogram data, an avoidance behavior,a vehicle state, and “collided or not” are associated with each otherfor each date and time.

The date and time is a date and time when electroencephalograminformation, position information, motion information, and vehicleinformation are received from the evaluation device 1. In the presentexample, the electroencephalogram information, the position information,the motion information, and the vehicle information are transmitted fromthe evaluation device 1 in response to a determination that the user hassensed a danger as described above, and it can also be said that thedate and time information is information indicating the date and time atwhich the user has sensed the danger.

The position is position information received from the evaluation device1, and the electroencephalogram data is electroencephalogram informationdata received from the evaluation device 1.

The avoidance behavior means an avoidance behavior taken by the user inaccordance with sensing of danger, and is analyzed by the control unit41 on the basis of the motion information received from the evaluationdevice 1, for example. In the present example, sudden braking and suddensteering are analyzed as an avoidance behavior. Specifically, which of“sudden braking”, “sudden steering”, or “sudden braking and steering”has been performed as an avoidance behavior is analyzed on the basis ofthe motion information.

Note that a result that none of these avoidance behaviors has been takenmay be obtained from the analysis. In the figure, a blank column in“AVOIDANCE BEHAVIOR” means that no avoidance behavior has been taken.

As the vehicle state, information based on the vehicle informationreceived from the evaluation device 1 is stored. Specifically, in thepresent example, information indicating a vehicle speed, whether thereis a pedestrian, and whether there is another car is stored.

The “collided or not” is information indicating whether the vehicle 2has collided or not after a danger has been sensed, and is analyzed bythe control unit 41 on the basis of the motion information received fromthe evaluation device 1, for example.

Creating such an analysis table 42 a makes it easier to manage a placewhere a danger has been sensed by a user of the corresponding vehicle 2,an avoidance behavior has been taken, or an accident has occurred, andthe analysis table 42 a is useful for risk analysis.

Furthermore, in the present example, the analysis table 42 a also storesvehicle information (information indicating a vehicle state) at the timeof sensing of danger. This enables more detailed risk analysis, forexample, more detailed case classification in accordance with adifference in vehicle state when the same avoidance behavior has beentaken.

The description returns to FIG. 7.

The evaluation table information generation unit 41 b generates, on thebasis of information in the analysis table 42 a, evaluation tableinformation, which is information to be stored in the evaluation table15 a in the evaluation device 1.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a data structure of the evaluationtable 15 a.

As illustrated, in the evaluation table 15 a, pieces of representativeelectroencephalogram data are associated with the correspondingpositions.

The positions here indicate POSITION in the analysis table 42 a, thatis, positions where a user has sensed a danger in the present example.The representative electroencephalogram data means representative dataof electroencephalogram data for each position. In the present example,as representative data, electroencephalogram data calculated as anaverage waveform of an electroencephalogram (beta wave) for eachposition is used.

Note that the representative electroencephalogram data is not limited todata obtained by calculating an average waveform. For example, one pieceof electroencephalogram data having an average waveform among pieces ofelectroencephalogram data for each position may be used. It is onlyrequired to use representative data of pieces of electroencephalogramdata acquired for the position.

The evaluation table information generation unit 41 b illustrated inFIG. 7 obtains representative electroencephalogram data of pieces ofelectroencephalogram data in which positions match, amongelectroencephalogram data stored in the analysis table 42 a.

Note that, as for a position in the analysis table 42 a where only onepiece of electroencephalogram data has been acquired, the acquired onepiece of electroencephalogram data is used as representativeelectroencephalogram data.

Then, the evaluation table information generation unit 41 b generates,as evaluation table information, information in which a position andrepresentative electroencephalogram data are associated with each other.

The information transmission unit 41 c performs processing fortransmitting the evaluation table information generated by theevaluation table information generation unit 41 b to the evaluationdevice 1. For example, the information transmission unit 41 c performsprocessing of transmitting the evaluation table information in responseto a request from the evaluation device 1.

The evaluation device 1 that has requested evaluation table informationgenerates the evaluation table 15 a as illustrated in FIG. 9 on thebasis of the received evaluation table information. Alternatively, whenthe evaluation table 15 a has already been generated on the basis ofevaluation table information received in the past, an informationcontent of the evaluation table 15 a is updated on the basis of thereceived evaluation table information. With this arrangement, theinformation content of the evaluation table 15 a can be updated to thelatest content.

Here, in the evaluation device 1 of the present example, the controlunit F2 performs, as an evaluation of a state related to sensing ofdanger by a user, not only an evaluation of whether a danger has beensensed based on the magnitude of amplitude of the beta wave as describedabove, but also an evaluation based on the evaluation table 15 a.

Specifically, in response to a determination that a user has sensed adanger based on the magnitude of amplitude of the beta wave, the controlunit F2 acquires, from the evaluation table 15 a, representativeelectroencephalogram data corresponding to a current position detectedby the position sensor 12. At this time, the representativeelectroencephalogram data corresponding to the current position mayinclude not only representative electroencephalogram data associatedwith a position that matches the current position among the positions inthe evaluation table 15 a, but also representative electroencephalogramdata associated with a position in which an error with respect to thecurrent position is within a predetermined error, for example, severalmeters to about a dozen meters.

Then, the control unit F2 determines whether or not the acquiredrepresentative electroencephalogram data and electroencephalogram dataacquired from the electroencephalogram sensor 11 (electroencephalogramdata used for the evaluation of whether a danger has been sensed) match.If it is determined that the two pieces of data match, high-level alertinformation is generated as alert information for the vehicle 2, and istransmitted to the vehicle 2 side by the first communication unit 16.

With this arrangement, when it is evaluated that the user has sensed adanger on the basis of the magnitude of amplitude of the beta wave, andthe electroencephalogram at that time matches the electroencephalogramdetected at the time of sensing of danger at the current position in thepast, that is, when it is evaluated that a certainty that the user hassensed a danger is higher, high-level alert information is transmittedas alert information for the vehicle 2.

On the other hand, when the control unit F2 determines that therepresentative electroencephalogram data acquired from the evaluationtable 15 a and the electroencephalogram data acquired from theelectroencephalogram sensor 11 do not match, or the evaluation table 15a does not contain representative electroencephalogram datacorresponding to the current position, low-level alert information isgenerated as alert information for the vehicle 2, and is transmitted tothe vehicle 2 side by the first communication unit 16. That is, if it isevaluated that the certainty that the user has sensed a danger isrelatively low, low-level alert information is transmitted.

Here, in the vehicle 2 of the present example, the driving supportcontrol unit 23 enables step-by-step switching of a level of drivingsupport control, for example, an allowable level for sudden braking orsudden steering (how much “sudden” braking or steering is allowed).Then, when the alert information received from the evaluation device 1is low-level alert information, the driving support control unit 23performs a driving support control in which the allowable level forsudden braking or sudden steering is “normal”. On the other hand, whenthe alert information received from the evaluation device 1 ishigh-level alert information, a driving support control is performedwith the allowable level for sudden braking or sudden steering raised toa level higher than “normal” (that is, a state in which a drivingsupport control with an enhanced danger avoidance ability can beperformed).

As described above, the evaluation device 1 evaluates a state related tosensing of danger by a user, including not only the magnitude ofamplitude of the beta wave but also match/mismatch with therepresentative electroencephalogram data in the evaluation table 15 a,and transmits alert information in accordance with the evaluation levelto the vehicle 2 side, so that the level of driving support control canbe switched on the vehicle 2 side in accordance with the evaluationlevel for the state related to sensing of danger by the user.

This allows a driving support control to be executed with an appropriatecontrol level. For example, it is possible to prevent a driving supportcontrol from being executed with an excessive control level when thecertainty that the user has sensed a danger is low.

3. Processing Procedure

With reference to a flowchart in FIG. 10, a processing procedure to beexecuted by the evaluation device 1 for implementation of a drivingsupport method as the embodiment described above will be described.

Note that the processing illustrated in FIG. 10 is executed by thecontrol unit 14 in the evaluation device 1 in accordance with a programstored in the ROM.

In FIG. 10, the control unit 14 first performs processing of acquiringposition information (current position information) detected by theposition sensor 12 as position acquisition processing of step S101.

Next, in step S102, the control unit 14 acquires an electroencephalogramdetected by the electroencephalogram sensor 11 as electroencephalogramacquisition processing, and then performs feature amount extractionprocessing of step S103 to perform processing of extracting beta waveand alpha wave components from the acquired electroencephalogram.

In step S104 following step S103, the control unit 14 determines whetheror not the beta wave has a large amplitude. That is, in the presentexample, an amplitude difference Δ between the beta wave and the alphawave obtained in step S103 is calculated, and it is determined whetheror not the amplitude difference Δ exceeds a threshold value THΔ.

If the amplitude difference Δ does not exceed the threshold value THΔand a negative result that the amplitude of the beta wave is not largeis obtained, the control unit 14 proceeds to step S112 and determineswhether or not the processing is to be ended, that is, for example,whether or not a predetermined condition for ending the processing suchas the evaluation device 1 being powered off is satisfied is determined.If the processing is not to be ended, the processing returns to stepS101. That is, if it is determined that the amplitude of the beta waveis not large, transmission of information to the server device 4 (S105)and transmission of alert information to the vehicle 2 (S111) are notperformed.

On the other hand, if the amplitude difference Δ exceeds the thresholdvalue THΔ and a positive result that the amplitude of the beta wave islarge is obtained, the control unit 14 proceeds to step S105, andcontrols execution of processing of transmitting information to theserver device 4 as transmission processing execution control.

Here, the processing of transmitting information to the server device 4will be described with reference to a flowchart in FIG. 11. In thepresent example, the control unit 14 can execute the transmissionprocessing illustrated in FIG. 11 in parallel with the processingillustrated in FIG. 10. The control unit 14 starts the transmissionprocessing illustrated in FIG. 11 in accordance with the executioncontrol in step S105.

In FIG. 11, the control unit 14 executes processing of acquiring motioninformation in step S201. That is, motion information detected by themotion sensor 13 is acquired. As will be understood from the abovedescription, as the motion information here, information for a certainperiod from a timing of determination that a danger has been sensed(that is, a timing of acquisition of the positive result in step S104)is acquired.

Next, in step S202, the control unit 14 executes processing of acquiringvehicle information from the vehicle 2 as vehicle informationacquisition processing. As will be understood from the abovedescription, as for the vehicle information, information regarding thevehicle speed and information regarding recognition of pedestrians andother cars are acquired from the driving support control unit 23.

Then, in the following step S203, the control unit 14 executesprocessing for transmitting the position, the electroencephalogramfeature amount, the motion information, and the vehicle information tothe server device 4. That is, the current position information acquiredin step S101, the feature amount as the beta wave extracted in stepS103, and the motion information and the vehicle informationrespectively acquired in steps S201 and S202 are transmitted to theserver device 4 by the second communication unit 17.

The description returns to FIG. 10.

After having executed the transmission processing execution control instep S105, the control unit 14 determines in step S106 whether or notthere is data corresponding to the current position in a table. That is,it is determined whether or not representative electroencephalogram datacorresponding to the current position exists in the evaluation table 15a.

If there is data corresponding to the current position in the table, thecontrol unit 14 proceeds to step S107 and executes feature amountcomparison processing. That is, matching is performed between data ofthe beta wave extracted in step S103 and the representativeelectroencephalogram data (beta wave in the present example)corresponding to the current position that has been confirmed in stepS106 to exist in the evaluation table 15 a.

Then, in the following step S107, the control unit 14 determines whetheror not the two pieces of data match as a result of the matching.

If it is determined that the two pieces of data match, the control unit14 proceeds to step S109, generates high-level alert information, andthen executes processing for transmitting the alert information to thevehicle 2 in step S111. That is, the generated alert information istransmitted to the vehicle 2 side via the first communication unit 16.

Furthermore, if it is determined in step S106 that there is no datacorresponding to the current position in the table, or if it isdetermined in step S108 that the pieces of data do not match, thecontrol unit 14 proceeds to step S110 and generates low-level alertinformation in either case. Then, after having executed the processingof step S110, the control unit 14 executes alert informationtransmission processing of step S111.

With this arrangement, when the detected electroencephalogram does notmatch an electroencephalogram acquired at the same position in the past,or when it is impossible to determine whether the detectedelectroencephalogram matches an electroencephalogram in the past becausethere is no electroencephalogram data corresponding to the evaluationtable 15 a in the first place, low-level alert information istransmitted to the vehicle 2.

After having executed the transmission processing of step S111, thecontrol unit 14 executes the end determination processing of step S112described above.

If it is determined in step S112 that the processing is to be ended, thecontrol unit 14 ends the series of processing illustrated in FIG. 10.

4. Modifications of Embodiment 4-1. First Modification

Here, the server device 4 can analyze a recommended avoidance behaviorfor avoiding an accident for each position on the basis of the analysistable 42 a as illustrated in FIG. 8. The recommended avoidance behaviorcan be obtained, for example, by analyzing, for each position, anavoidance behavior in which a rate of “COLLIDED OR NOT” in the analysistable 42 a being “NOT COLLIDED” is a predetermined value or more.

In the present modification, the recommended avoidance behavior is alsoanalyzed for each vehicle state. That is, there may be cases in whichthe recommended avoidance behavior differs depending on the vehiclestate, for example, when the vehicle 2 is traveling at a low speed,performing sudden braking as an avoidance behavior results in arelatively significantly low accident rate, and when the vehicle 2 istraveling at a high speed, performing sudden braking and sudden steeringas an avoidance behavior results in a relatively significantly lowaccident rate. Thus, in the analysis of the recommended avoidancebehavior for each position, a relationship between an avoidance behaviorand an accident rate is analyzed for each vehicle state, and when theavoidance behavior with a low accident rate differs relativelysignificantly depending on the vehicle state, the different avoidancebehaviors are assigned as recommended avoidance behaviors for thecorresponding vehicle states at the position. On the other hand, in acase of a position where the avoidance behavior with a low accident rateis narrowed down to a single avoidance behavior regardless of thevehicle state, the single avoidance behavior is assigned as therecommended avoidance behavior for the position. Furthermore, dependingon the position, there may be a case where no significant differenceoccurs in the accident rate whichever avoidance behavior is taken. Insuch a case, assignment as the recommended avoidance behavior for theposition is not performed.

In the server device 4 in the present modification, the control unit 41performs processing of obtaining representative electroencephalogramdata for each position described previously on the basis of the analysistable 42 a, and also performs processing of analyzing the recommendedavoidance behavior for each position as described above. Then,evaluation table information is generated on the basis of results ofthose pieces of processing. Specifically, as the evaluation tableinformation in this case, when a position, representativeelectroencephalogram data, and a recommended avoidance behavior for theposition are included, the information is generated in association withthe recommended avoidance behavior.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a data structure of an evaluationtable 15 a in the present modification. In the example described here,as an analysis of a recommended avoidance behavior for each vehiclestate, avoidance behaviors at low speed and avoidance behaviors at highspeed are separately analyzed.

In a case of a position where the avoidance behavior with a low accidentrate at a low speed (e.g., less than 40 km/h) and that at a high speed(e.g., 40 km/h or more) are relatively significantly different, thecontrol unit 41 in the server device 4 generates evaluation tableinformation in which each of the avoidance behavior at low speed and theavoidance behavior at high speed is assigned as a recommended avoidancebehavior.

Furthermore, in a case of a position where the avoidance behavior with alow accident rate is narrowed down to a single avoidance behaviorregardless of at low speed or at high speed, the control unit 41generates evaluation table information in which the single avoidancebehavior is assigned as the recommended avoidance behavior. In a case ofa position where no significant difference occurs in the accident rateregardless of at low speed or at high speed whichever avoidance behavioris taken, the control unit 41 generates evaluation table information inwhich only the representative electroencephalogram data is associated.

In this case, the control unit 14 in the evaluation device 1 requeststhe server device 4 to transmit evaluation table information. Then, theevaluation table 15 a is generated or updated on the basis of theevaluation table information received in response to the request. Withthis arrangement, the evaluation table 15 a as illustrated in FIG. 12 isbuilt in the storage unit 15 in this case.

The control unit 14 in the present modification causes informationregarding the recommended avoidance behavior to be transmitted to thevehicle 2 together with alert information on the basis of the evaluationtable 15 a illustrated in FIG. 12.

With this arrangement, the vehicle 2 can perform a driving supportcontrol on the basis of information indicating the recommended avoidancebehavior, that is, an avoidance behavior in which the accident rate hasbeen low in the past with respect to a danger that occurs at the currentposition, and it is therefore possible to enhance safety. In particular,in the present modification, it is possible to notify the vehicle 2 sideof the information regarding the recommended avoidance behavior inaccordance with the vehicle state, that is, a driving support controlcan be performed on the vehicle 2 side on the basis of informationindicating an appropriate recommended avoidance behavior in accordancewith the vehicle state, and it is therefore possible to further enhancesafety.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure to beexecuted by the control unit 14 of the evaluation device 1 forimplementation of the driving support method as a first modificationdescribed above.

Note that, in FIG. 13, the same step number is given to processingsimilar to the processing already described in FIG. 10, and thedescription thereof will be omitted.

In this case, the control unit 14 executes the processing of steps S301to S303 instead of the processing of step S111.

Specifically, in this case, if the control unit 14 has generatedhigh-level alert information in step S109, or if the control unit 14 hasgenerated low-level alert information in step S110, the processingproceeds to step S301 in either case.

In step S301, the control unit 14 determines whether or not arecommended avoidance behavior corresponding to the current positionexists in the evaluation table 15 a. If it is determined that arecommended avoidance behavior exists, the control unit 14 executesprocessing for transmitting alert information and recommended avoidancebehavior information to the vehicle 2 in step S302, and the processingproceeds to step S112.

On the other hand, if it is determined that no recommended avoidancebehavior exists, the control unit 14 executes processing fortransmitting alert information to the vehicle 2 in step S303, and theprocessing proceeds to step S112.

4-2. Second Modification

Here, in the embodiment, if it is determined that a user has sensed adanger on the basis of the beta wave, a state related to sensing ofdanger is evaluated on the basis of a result of matching withrepresentative electroencephalogram data corresponding to the currentposition. The representative electroencephalogram data in this case maybe representative electroencephalogram data at the time of an avoidancebehavior.

In this case, the evaluation table 15 a stores, as the representativeelectroencephalogram data, representative electroencephalogram dataregarding a case where a user has sensed a danger and then taken anavoidance behavior. That is, the control unit 14 in this case performsmatching between representative electroencephalogram data correspondingto the current position in the evaluation table 15 a andelectroencephalogram data from the electroencephalogram sensor 11 as inthe processing of steps S106 to S108, so that matching can be performedwith an electroencephalogram immediately before an avoidance behaviortaken at the current position in the past. That is, instead of vaguelyevaluating whether a danger has been sensed, it is possible to evaluatewhether or not a danger of a level that causes an avoidance behavior tobe taken has been sensed.

Here, the evaluation operation by the control unit 14 as a secondmodification as described above can also be said as follows. That is,when the current position is a position where an avoidance behavior hasbeen taken in the past and an electroencephalogram immediately beforethe avoidance behavior has been recorded, the control unit 14 evaluatesa state related to sensing of danger by a user on the basis of a resultof matching between an electroencephalogram detected by theelectroencephalogram sensor 11 and the electroencephalogram immediatelybefore the avoidance behavior.

This makes it possible to appropriately evaluate, on the basis of pastrecords, a possibility that a user will take an avoidance behavior suchas sudden braking or sudden steering in accordance with sensing ofdanger.

It is therefore possible to cause, when a user is likely to take anavoidance behavior, the vehicle 2 side to start a driving supportcontrol for the avoidance behavior, and it is therefore possible toenhance safety.

4-3. Other Modifications

In the above description, it has been described that the analysis table42 a in the server device 4 accumulates information regardingelectroencephalograms transmitted from each evaluation device 1, but itis possible to accumulate not only electroencephalograms but alsobiological information other than electroencephalograms, such as anamount of sweat, a heart rate, a pulse rate, or the like collected fromeach evaluation device 1.

At that time, the evaluation device 1 is provided with a correspondingbiosensor, and biological information detected by the biosensor istransmitted to the server device 4.

Furthermore, when an accident occurs, the user does not always sense thedanger in advance. Examples of such an accident include an accidentcaused by inattentive driving and an accident of being rear-ended byanother vehicle from behind.

In order to enable identification of such an accident by analysis on theserver device 4 side, it is conceivable to transmit motion informationfrom the evaluation device 1 side even when a determination of whether adanger has been sensed based on the beta wave is performed and it isdetermined that no danger has been sensed. Specifically, it isconceivable to determine, also on the evaluation device 1 side, whethera collision has occurred on the basis of motion information such as anacceleration, and transmit, in response to a determination that acollision has occurred, to the server device 4, information regarding anelectroencephalogram immediately before the collision. Alternatively, itis also conceivable to constantly transmit electroencephalograminformation to the server device 4.

Furthermore, in the example described above, analysis for generating theanalysis table 42 a based on information transmitted from the evaluationdevice 1 and analysis for generating evaluation table information basedon the analysis table 42 a are executed by the server device 4 (thecontrol unit 41), but these analyses can also be executed outside theserver device 4.

Note that the above description shows an example in which the presenttechnology is applied to a vehicle as a motorcycle, but the presenttechnology can be applied not only to a motorcycle but also to a vehiclewith three or more wheels. Furthermore, the present technology is notlimited to automobiles, and can also be applied to human-poweredvehicles (e.g., a bicycle having a steering support function).

Furthermore, the above description shows an example in which theposition sensor 12 and the motion sensor 13 are integrally provided inthe evaluation device 1, but a configuration may be adopted in which atleast one of these sensors is externally attached to the evaluationdevice 1.

5. Summary of Embodiment

As described above, an evaluation device (the evaluation device 1) asthe embodiment includes a communication unit (the communication unit F1or the first communication unit 16) capable of communicating with avehicle, and a control unit (the control unit F2 or 14) that evaluates astate related to sensing of danger by a user on the basis of anelectroencephalogram of the user detected by an electroencephalogramsensor and causes the communication unit to transmit evaluation resultinformation to the vehicle.

That is, for example, on the basis of an electroencephalogram of a usersuch as a driver of a vehicle, evaluation of a state related to sensingof danger such as whether or not the user has sensed a danger isperformed, and evaluation result information is transmitted to thevehicle side.

There is a fair time lag from when a person senses a danger to when theperson takes an avoidance behavior, because a command transmission to amotor area in the brain and a command transmission from the motor areato a muscle as needed are required. On the other hand, when a danger issensed, the brain reacts, and this appears as a change in theelectroencephalogram. It is therefore possible to obtain evaluationresult information related to sensing of danger on the basis of theelectroencephalogram and transmit it to the vehicle side as describedabove to allow the vehicle to start a control for danger avoidance at astage before the user takes an avoidance behavior in accordance withsensing of danger.

It is therefore possible to enhance safety in vehicle operation.

Furthermore, in the evaluation device as the embodiment, the controlunit evaluates a state related to sensing of danger on the basis of atleast one of the magnitude of amplitude of the beta wave in theelectroencephalogram, the power level of the beta wave, or the phase ofthe beta wave.

When a danger approaches and tension rises, an amplitude and power of abeta wave change. Furthermore, when beta waves detected at a pluralityof positions in a brain are out of phase, there is a possibility thatthe evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger becomes lessaccurate. Thus, the state is evaluated in consideration of a magnitudeof amplitude, a power level, and a phase of a beta wave.

It is therefore possible to appropriately evaluate a state related tosensing of danger by a user.

Furthermore, it is not necessary to perform matching with anelectroencephalogram detected in the past to evaluate sensing of danger.It is therefore possible to appropriately evaluate sensing of dangereven at a position where there is no record of an electroencephalogramin the past, and it is therefore possible to enhance safety.

Moreover, in the evaluation device as the embodiment, the control unitevaluates a state related to sensing of danger on the basis of arelative comparison between the beta wave and a component other than thebeta wave in the electroencephalogram.

That is, the evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger isperformed on the basis of a relative comparison with a component otherthan the beta wave such as an alpha wave or a theta wave, not on thebasis of the beta wave alone.

It is therefore possible to improve the accuracy of the evaluation of astate related to sensing of danger.

Furthermore, in the evaluation device as the embodiment, when a currentposition is a position where an avoidance behavior has been taken in thepast and an electroencephalogram immediately before the avoidancebehavior has been recorded, the control unit evaluates a state relatedto sensing of danger on the basis of a result of matching between anelectroencephalogram detected by the electroencephalogram sensor and theelectroencephalogram immediately before the avoidance behavior (see thesecond modification).

This makes it possible to appropriately evaluate, on the basis of pastrecords, a possibility that a user will take an avoidance behavior suchas sudden braking or sudden steering in accordance with sensing ofdanger.

It is therefore possible to cause, when a user is likely to take anavoidance behavior, the vehicle side to start a driving support controlfor the avoidance behavior, and it is therefore possible to enhancesafety.

Furthermore, in the evaluation device as the embodiment, the controlunit executes transmission processing for transmitting, to an externaldevice, current position information, information regarding anelectroencephalogram detected by the electroencephalogram sensor, andmotion information detected by a motion sensor.

This makes it possible to build, outside the evaluation device, adatabase (table information) for managing information such as a placewhere a user has sensed a danger, an electroencephalogram at the time ofsensing of danger, a content of an avoidance behavior taken inaccordance with sensing of danger, and whether an accident has occurred(whether a collision has occurred).

It is therefore possible to facilitate analysis of a dangerous place.

Moreover, in the evaluation device as the embodiment, the control unitexecutes transmission processing in accordance with a result of anevaluation of a state related to sensing of danger.

This allows processing of transmitting information for risk analysissuch as an electroencephalogram to an external device to be executed ifit is evaluated that a user has sensed a danger, and not to be executedif it is evaluated that the user has not sensed a danger.

It is therefore no longer necessary to constantly transmit informationfor risk analysis, and thus an amount of communication data and aprocessing load can be reduced.

Furthermore, in the evaluation device as the embodiment, the controlunit extracts a feature amount of an electroencephalogram detected bythe electroencephalogram sensor, and performs the transmissionprocessing to transmit information regarding the extracted featureamount.

With this arrangement, an amount of data can be reduced as compared witha case where an electroencephalogram signal itself detected by theelectroencephalogram sensor is transmitted.

It is therefore possible to reduce the amount of communication data.

Furthermore, in the evaluation device as the embodiment, the controlunit performs the transmission processing to transmit vehicleinformation acquired from the vehicle via the communication unit.

This makes it possible to build, outside the evaluation device, adatabase for managing information indicating a vehicle statecorresponding to the time of sensing of danger, in addition toinformation indicating a place where a user has sensed a danger, anavoidance behavior has been taken, or an accident has occurred.

It is therefore possible to perform more detailed risk analysis.

Moreover, in the evaluation device as the embodiment, the control unitcauses the communication unit to transmit, to the vehicle, informationregarding an avoidance behavior recorded in association with a currentposition on the basis of a result of the evaluation of a state relatedto sensing of danger.

This makes it possible to transmit, to the vehicle, informationregarding an avoidance behavior recorded in association with the currentposition when it is evaluated that a user has sensed a danger.

It is therefore possible to implement a driving support control withenhanced safety in the vehicle. For example, it is possible to notifythe vehicle of an avoidance behavior in which the accident rate has beenlow in the past with respect to a danger that occurs at the currentposition.

Furthermore, an evaluation method as the embodiment includes evaluatinga state related to sensing of danger by a user on the basis of anelectroencephalogram of the user detected by an electroencephalogramsensor, and causing a communication unit capable of communicating with avehicle to transmit evaluation result information to the vehicle.

Such an evaluation method as the embodiment can also obtain an operationand effect similar to those of the evaluation device as the embodimentdescribed above.

Note that the effects described herein are merely illustrative and arenot intended to be restrictive, and other effects may be obtained.

6. Present Technology

Note that the present technology can also be configured as describedbelow.

(1)

An evaluation device including:

a communication unit capable of communicating with a vehicle; and

a control unit that performs an evaluation of a state related to sensingof danger by a user on the basis of an electroencephalogram of the userdetected by an electroencephalogram sensor, and causes the communicationunit to transmit evaluation result information to the vehicle.

(2)

The evaluation device according to (1), in which

the control unit

performs the evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger on thebasis of at least one of a magnitude of amplitude of a beta wave in anelectroencephalogram, a power level of the beta wave, or a phase of thebeta wave.

(3)

The evaluation device according to (1) or (2), in which

the control unit

performs the evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger on thebasis of a relative comparison between a beta wave and a component otherthan the beta wave in an electroencephalogram.

(4)

The evaluation device according to any one of (1) to (3), in which

the control unit

performs, when a current position is a position where an avoidancebehavior has been taken in the past and an electroencephalogramimmediately before the avoidance behavior has been recorded, theevaluation of a state related to sensing of danger on the basis of aresult of matching between an electroencephalogram detected by theelectroencephalogram sensor and the electroencephalogram immediatelybefore the avoidance behavior.

(5)

The evaluation device according to any one of (1) to (4), in which

the control unit

executes transmission processing for transmitting, to an externaldevice, current position information, information regarding anelectroencephalogram detected by the electroencephalogram sensor, andmotion information detected by a motion sensor.

(6)

The evaluation device according to (5), in which

the control unit

executes the transmission processing in accordance with a result of theevaluation of a state related to sensing of danger.

(7)

The evaluation device according to (5) or (6), in which

the control unit

extracts a feature amount of an electroencephalogram detected by theelectroencephalogram sensor, and performs the transmission processingfor transmitting information regarding the extracted feature amount.

(8)

The evaluation device according to any one of (5) to (7), in which

the control unit

performs the transmission processing for transmitting vehicleinformation acquired from the vehicle via the communication unit.

(9)

The evaluation device according to any one of (1) to (8), in which

the control unit

causes the communication unit to transmit, to the vehicle, informationregarding an avoidance behavior recorded in association with a currentposition on the basis of a result of the evaluation of a state relatedto sensing of danger.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 Evaluation device-   2 Vehicle-   4 Server device-   5 Driving support system-   11 Electroencephalogram sensor-   12 Position sensor-   13 Motion sensor-   14 Control unit-   16 First communication unit-   23 Driving support control unit-   41 Control unit-   41 a Analysis table creation unit-   41 b Evaluation table information generation unit-   41 c Information transmission unit-   42 a Analysis table-   F1 Communication unit-   F2 Control unit

The invention claimed is:
 1. An evaluation device, comprising: at least one communication unit configured to communicate with a vehicle; and a control unit configured to: perform an evaluation of a state related to sensing of danger by a user of the vehicle, wherein the evaluation of the state is performed based on an electroencephalogram of the user detected by an electroencephalogram sensor; and cause the at least one communication unit to: transmit, to the vehicle, result information representing the evaluation of the state, and transmit, to an external device different from the vehicle and the evaluation device, information representing a current position of the user, information regarding the electroencephalogram detected by the electroencephalogram sensor, and motion information of the user detected by a motion sensor.
 2. The evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the evaluation of the state related to sensing of danger based on at least one of a magnitude of amplitude of a beta wave in the electroencephalogram, a power level of the beta wave, or a phase of the beta wave.
 3. The evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the evaluation of the state related to sensing of danger based on a relative comparison between a beta wave and a component other than the beta wave in the electroencephalogram.
 4. The evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to: record, into a storage unit, the electroencephalogram immediately before an avoidance behavior of the user; perform, when the current position is a position where the avoidance behavior has been taken in past, the evaluation of the state related to sensing of danger based on a result of matching between a current electroencephalogram detected by the electroencephalogram sensor and the recorded electroencephalogram.
 5. The evaluation device according to claim 1 wherein the control unit is further configured to: determine whether an amplitude difference between an alpha wave and a beta wave in the electroencephalogram exceeds a predetermined threshold; and cause, based on the determination that the amplitude difference between the alpha wave and the beta wave in the electroencephalogram exceeds the predetermined threshold, the at least one communication unit to transmit the current position information, the electroencephalogram information, and the motion information to the external device.
 6. The evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to: extract a feature amount of the electroencephalogram; and cause the at least one communication unit to transmit information regarding the extracted feature amount.
 7. The evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to cause the at least one communication unit to transmit, to the external device, vehicle information acquired from the vehicle along with the current position information, the electroencephalogram information, and the motion information.
 8. The evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to: determine, in the evaluation of the state related to sensing of danger, whether the user has sensed the danger, and cause, based on the determination that the user has sensed the danger, the at least one communication unit to transmit, to the external device, the motion information during a certain period from a timing of the determination that the user has sensed the danger.
 9. An evaluation information processing method, comprising: acquiring, from an electroencephalogram sensor, electroencephalogram information of a user of a vehicle; acquiring, from a position sensor, current position information representing a current position of the user; acquiring, from a motion sensor, motion information of the user; determining, in an evaluation of state related to sensing of danger by the user, whether the user has sensed the danger based on the electroencephalogram information; and controlling, based on the determination that the user has sensed the danger, at least one communication unit to transmit the electroencephalogram information, the current position information, and the motion information to an external device different from the vehicle. 